Honorverse:Wikipedia content/Honorverse concepts and terminology
This article is from Wikipedia and has been saved from deletion in order to include its missing content into the Honorverse Wiki. This article covers various concepts and terminology related to Honorverse, a series of military science fiction novels written by David Weber. Beowulf Code The Beowulf Code is a code of ethics for medical practictioners (within the Honorverse, a series of military science fiction novels written by David Weber). It is similar in many respects to the Hippocratic Oath, especially in basic approach. The Beowulf Code originated on the planet Beowulf, in the Sigma Draconis System. The planet is renowned for its long-standing medical traditions. Its practictioners developed a code of ethics in the wake of Earth's Final War. It supplanted the Hippocratic Oath in the Honor Harrington universe. One of the provisions of the code is Practitioner-Patient Confidentiality. However this clause has stipulations on circumstances where confidentiality can be involuntarily violated, or can be waived by one party without consent of the other party. Cherwell Convention In the Honorverse, a series of military science fiction novels written by David Weber, the Cherwell Convention is an agreement outlawing slavery in the space controlled by signatory nations. Almost all major star nations are signatories, though that does not prevent many from ignoring the provisions of the Convention when it suits them. Historically, the star nations that most reliably enforce the Convention over their spheres of control are the Star Kingdom of Manticore and the (People's) Republic of Haven. On the other hand, the Silesian Confederacy and Solarian League have often suffered from deep corruption on the issue, despite the fact that they are official signatories of the Convention. The conflict between the slave-breeders Manpower Incorporated of Mesa on one hand and the official position of nearly all governments in human space has evoked considerable conflict for centuries. Manpower has attempted to evade or subvert official polciy in practice, and save for the notable exceptions of Manticore and Haven, has largely succeeded. Their efforts have included bribery, subversion of politicians and civil servants, and even assassination. In the case of hostilities between Manticore and Haven, Manpower has, surreptitiously, encouraged the conflict which has had the effect of reducing opposition to its enterprises elsewhere. One notable provision of the Cherwell Convention is its equipment clause, which states that possession of equipment that can be used to contain or transport slaves is a violation of the convention, even if the equipment is not being used to hold slaves at the time of its seizure. Not all signatories of the Convention support this clause (most notably Solarians and Silesians), but Manticoran and Havenite navies enforced it strictly since its very inception. Deneb Accords In the Honorverse, a series of military science fiction novels written by David Weber, the Deneb Accords are rules of war. They were sponsored by the Solarian League at a conference held on Deneb, and are generally accepted if not always followed in practice. The Deneb Accords are similar in spirit to the Geneva Conventions in that they are meant to protect the rights of military personnel in times of war, preventing outrages of treatment if captured. The Accords regulate, among many other things, the exchange of prisoners of war between belligerent parties, the supervision and inspection of POW and internment camps by neutral third parties (usually representatives from the Solarian League). The Accords also forbid trial of captured enemy military personnel during wartime, except in special cases including conviction of crimes prior to the beginning of hostilities. A notable provision of the Accords is Section Twenty-Seven, which prohibits any trial of enemy personnel in time of war. There are two subsections, Subsection Forty-One and Subsection Forty-Two. Subsection Forty-One provides that the Accords' protections and safeguards do not apply to captured combatants who were convicted of crimes prior to the outbreak of hostilities. Capturing nations may carry out the pre-existing penalties if any. This was an early amendment to the Accords, following the their abuse when convicted criminals were used to prosecute wars against the nations which had convicted them. Subsection Forty-Two specifically provided for wartime trials of individuals for violation of local laws (eg, the Courts Martial of captured State Security forces on the prison planet Hades in the Cerberus system by Allied officers who had captured the planet. They used Haven's Uniform Code of Conduct, since Hell had been sovereign territory of the People's Republic of Haven at the time of the alleged crimes). The accords nevertheless prohibit ex post facto trials under the municipal law of whoever captured them; violations must be of existing law. Subsection Forty-One's most infamous use was in the case of Honor Harrington's execution. She had been convicted by a Haven court in absentia as a political act following her successful defense of the Basilisk system against an attempted coup de main by Haven prior to open hostilities between Manticore and Haven. The Committee of Public Safety found it politically convenient to honor the conviction by the regime they had replaced. Eridani Edict The Eridani Edict is one of the most significant restrictions on military or quasi-military behaviour. The Edict is intended to outlaw and penalize indiscriminate orbital bombardment of a populated world, or any form of bombardment against a planetary population which had not first been given the opportunity to surrender. It also covers the use of any kind of weapons of mass destruction. Kinetic bambardment is considered a weapon of mass destruction, so accidents involving system asteroids are not immune. Even an accidental and unintended impact on a planetary surface by a missile (usually traveling at high speed, perhaps even relativistic speeds) is an Eridani violation. The Solarian League is the primary enforcer of the Edict, taking onto itself the authority (and responsibility) of enforcement. The usual penalty is unrestricted military intervention and open war by the Solarian League Navy which, given its size and power, is likely to produce destruction of the offending party. In fact, enforcement of the Eridani Edict is the only foreign policy issue not subject to vote or veto by members of the Solarian League since the Edict is actually a part of the League's Constitution. As the Solarian League is the most powerful star association in the Honorverse, whose military power is so great compared to any other, or combination of other, political entities that there has been little practical chance of resisting it, belligerent parties are usually extremely careful to avoid anything that may be construed as a violation of the Edict. The Edict is also taken into account in naval engagements taking place in the vicinity of an inhabited world; fleet commanders are usually quite wary of launching missiles too close to such a planet for fear that one may go astray, impacting the surface. The Eridani Edict is named after an incident known as the "Epsilon Eridani Massacre". During a military conflict, the Solarian League-member world of Epsilon Eridani suffered a massive planetary bombardment by enemy forces which resulted in the death of over seven billion of its inhabitants. This took place some five hundred years before the events of the bulk of the Honorverse stories. Amendment Ninety-Seven of the Solarian League Constitution, commonly referred to as the Eridani Edict, unilaterally declares that any power carrying out wholesale and wanton slaughter of civilian populations using any weapon of mass destruction is subject to punitive attack. The Solarian League Navy is under standing orders to destroy any government, star-nation or mercenary outfit which carries out such indiscriminate attacks. The Edict is, perhaps, the only matter which bears even a remote resemblance to a unified foreign policy for the Solarian League for which essentially all joint foreign policy is subject to veto of members. There are provisions for the restricted use of orbital bombardment strikes against discrete surface military targets once an attacker controls a planets orbitals and the defenders have refused a summons to surrender. Operation Thunderbolt Operation Thunderbolt is a military operation during the Manticore-Haven Wars. It was launched on November 10, 1919 P.D. by the Republic of Haven and reopened hostilities with the Star Kingdom of Manticore and its allies. It either continued the First Havenite War or started the Second, depending on perspective. Thunderbolt was conceived in part by Thomas Theisman, Javier Giscard, and Lester Tourville. It was a multi-pronged assault that was highly successful in some areas, namely the destruction of a great number of Manticoran warships, an important shipyard, and other installations. It failed spectacularly in other respects, primarily in the attempted destruction of Sidemore Station to which Honor Harrington's command had been assigned.